A private party hosted at Richard Pepe's Vesuvio restaurant in downtown Carmel charged $50 a person and featured a lingerie fashion show Thursday night.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Carmel resident Carolyn Hardy urged city leaders to stop the party from happening because she believed the risque event threatened to change the character of Carmel. Hardy labeled the party's models as "sluts" and "whores."

“You might mistake them for sluts and whores in their black thigh-high boots, little black dresses abundantly overflowing with chest,” she said. “Let’s see, the only thing missing so far from this Carmel event? The johns. Risking accusations of being prudish, I really find this appalling for our village community."

The city declined to intervene. Hardy gave a photo of the party's models to city council members, and the Pine Cone used that same photo for their front page.

The newspaper printed the word "SLUTS" in bold, capital letters just above the photo to direct readers to continue reading on page 23. Page 23 also had "SLUTS" at the top of the jump page.

The photograph was shot by the party's promotional company, Racey Promotions. Many of the girls in the photo are 17-years-old and were not at Pepe's party or lingerie show.

As soon as the free weekly newspaper hit the newsstands on Friday, residents began scooping up entire stacks. The Carmel Police Department said they received at least two police reports about people "stealing" the free newspapers.

Models posing in the photo said they were bullied at school on Friday and unfair damage has been done to their reputations because the article went too far.

Pine Cone Publisher Paul Miller, a veteran and well-respected journalist, said "sluts" was used for the jump page because it was a word Hardy said.

"That word was simply meant to be a memorable word to the jump page," Miller said.

Legal battles have already ensued.

Racey Promotions became outraged when they found out the Pine Cone stole a photo from Racey Promotion's Facebook page, without its knowledge, for such an unflattering article. A lawyer representing Racey Promotions tried to get all Pine Cone newspapers pulled from the streets on Friday, but failed to find a judge who could hold a hearing that quickly.

The company may file a lawsuit against the Pine Cone and Miller for publishing its photo without its consent. Meanwhile, Pepe said he may take legal action against Hardy for slamming his nightlife events to city leaders.